Wall mounted air conditioning unit



y 7, 1953 w. F. BORGERD 2,644,321

WALL MOUNTED AIR CONDITIONING UNIT Filed July 12, 1951 I 2 Sheets-Sheet fin for: Zdzllz'am ,502" era Patented July 7, 1953 WALL. MOUNTED AIR CONDITIONING UNIT William F. Borgei'd, iEvansville, Ind, assignor to "International Harvester Company, a corporation ofiNew' Jersey eApplication July-12, 1951,:Serial- No. 236,305

-1 I ..This invention relates generally to. an air. conditioning .unit, .and -more particularly .to-. an air conditioning unit whichis adapted to be mounted onthe outer wall. of. a building and to cool the air. within. .the. building.

.Since air conditioningothomesis.a relatively recentdevelopment, many of the older buildings arenot :equipped with. suitable. means .for .installing a centralized airconditioning system adapted'tocool all. the rooms of the building. Consequently, the room type .air conditionerhas been-installed by..many.-home.owners, the two most common types being the window mounted unit. and. the console-unit. :Both of .these types arousually too. compact. for .proper air. circulationtherethrough'which causes the efliciency of the-.refrigeration.system to belowered. .The window. mounted unit is usually positioned on a window sillin such amanner that it obstructs a substantial portionof the-window. sill, whereas the console unituisusually; positioned. entirely within. the .roomso that it; isldifficult to com .pletely insulate the noise. and .heat of the refrigeration machinery fromtheroom. The units arenot. particularly attractive .in .the room .and each oneobstructs a portion of. the floor space of the room. .The present invention provides an. air conditioning unit. which overcomes the above..mentioned disadvantages and offers the manyobjects. and advantages as hereinafter listed. I

One object of .the present invention is toprovide an. air. conditioning unit which is adapted .tocool all the rooms of abuilding.

. Another. object. oithe invention is tov provide anair.conditioningunitin which the refrigeration system iscompletely assembled by the manu- .facturers before shipment to the building in which it is to be installed.

Another. object of the invention is to provide a. unit of' thecharacter mentioned in which the high side compartment is-positioned outside the building and secured to a-wall of the building over-an opening which extends therethrough.

'Another object of the invention is to provide a unit of the character mentioned in' which the evaporator-andother components of the low side compartment areinserted through the opening. and. disposedwithin the building.

.Another. object ofithe invention is to provide a. unit of. .thezcharacter mentioned inwhich the evaporator :is adapted to be placedin .theutility r'oomi'orother storage space within the build- 1 Another I object. of the invention is to: provide 5'C1aims. (01. 62-140) a. unit oi..the. charactermentioned in which the low. side compartment is. adapted to be installed "in, parallel with a. furnace duct .system with meansior controlling lthe passage of air over the evaporator.

'Another object of theinvention is. to provide a unit. ofthe charactenmentioned in which. the high side members are properly cooled by. outside. air.

Another object of the invention is to provide a unit of the character. mentioned in which'the noiseland heat from the. high side machinery will not be projectedinto the. building.

.Another object of theinvention is to provide a unit of .the character described having means fordraining condensate .fromthe evaporator into the air stream, passing overlthe condenser.

Another. object of. .the.inverition is to provide a. unit of; the. character described .having means for spraying wateroveran air cooled condenser during overload periods. I 7

Further objects.and.advantages...of the present invention will be apparent from .thefollowing description and drawings, it being understood that the drawings are for .the purpose of illustration only and not a definition ofthe limits of the invention, reference being made. for. this purpose to the appended claims.

.In the drawings:

.Fig. 1 isa vertical sectional view. of an air conditioning unit and a portion ofa wall taken substantially on line l-I of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 .15V a horizontal .cross sectional view of the unit and wall taken substantially along. line 2-2 of Fig...1.

.-Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional viewof. theunit taken substantially along line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings for a .detailed'description of .theinvention, a portion of an outer wall 01.- a. building is. represented by. reference numeral I0 and a portion of a floor. is represented by reference numeral II. It is contemplated that the floor ll be the fiooroi a utility room orotherstorage room whichis particularlywadaptable for having an air conditioning unit positioned therein. Wall 10 is provided with. a rectangular opening 13 therethrough which is spaced above floor I I and encased by a suitable frame 14;

Positioned outside the building and secured to wall i0 is a casing. l5 which encloses ahigh side compartment IS. .The casing l5 comprises a. horizontal base I1, vertical corner channels 18;.topwa1l l9-,.front wall 20, inner wall 2l;.and bottom wall 22 and is secured.- against'wall. l0

3 by bolts 23 which are anchored in frame it. The open ends 24 and 25 of the casing I are provided with screens and 2? respectively which will protect compartment [:3 from foreign objects and prevent unauthorized personnel from tampering with the components therein. Pivotally secured to top wall it by hinges 23 are doors 2i) and 333 which are adapted to be raised as shown by solid lines in Fig. 3 and held in a horizontal plane by suitable means (not shown). These doors 29 and 38, when in a horizontal position, shield the compartment from the sun and the weather and can be swung downwardly to a vertical position, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3, to cover the open ends 24 and 25 so that the compartment i6 is completely closed during the winter months when the air conditioning unit is not being operated. Positioned adjacent open end 24 of the casing is is a finned tube air cooled condenser 3!. A combination motor-compressor unit 32 is secured to base I! adjacent open end 25 and an electric motor is disposed in the central portion of the com= partment l5. Secured to the armature shaft of the electric motor 33 is a propeller type fan 34 having the blades pitched in such a manner that when motor 33 is running, outside air will be pulled into open end 24, circulated through compartment is and discharged through open end 25.

Positioned adjacent the inner surface of the outer wall 50 is a horizontal duct 3a which may be secured in any suitable manner. It is contemplated that duct 34 be a portion of a duct system from a hot air furnace to the various rooms of the building but it is to be understood that it could be a portion of a duct system installed for the express purpose of supplying cold air to the rooms of the building. Secured below duct 34 is a casing 35 comprising side walls 35, bottom Wall 31 and top wall 38 which enclose a low side compartment 39 and are provided with insulating material All located proximate the inner surfaces thereof. One open end All of the casing 35 is connected to duct 34 by duct member 42 which comprises an upwardly inclined bottom wall 43 and vertical side walls s4 and 45. The opposite open end 45 is enclosed by duct member ll which connects into horizontal duct 34 and comprises vertical side walls 48 and 4S and inclined bottom wall 50.

Pivotally connected to top wall 38 by hinges 5| is a damper 52 which is adapted to open and close the opening between horizontal duct 34 and duct member t2. connected to top wall 38 over open end 46 by hinges 54 in a manner to allow opening and closing of the opening between horizontal duct 34 and duct member 4?. Fixedly secured to dampers 52 and 53 are levers 55 and 56 to which flexible cords 5! and 58 are joined. The cords 51 and 58 are secured to pulley 59 in such a manner that when the pulley is rotated in one direction, the dampers 52 and 53 are both raised to the position shown by solid lines in Fig. 3, and when rotated in the opposite direction, the dampers are lowered to the portions illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. Either manual means or automatic means may be provided for operating pulley 59 but are not shown since the invention. is not directed to that feature.

A finned tubed evaporator is positioned in low side compartment 39 across open end A! with an electric motor SI secured between the evaporator and the opposite open end 4 5. The

A second damper 53 is motor 6| drives a propeller type fan 62 which pulls air over the evaporator til from the horizontal duct 34 when the dampers 52 and 53 are in raised position. If the horizontal duct 34 is provided with a blower for circulating air through a furnace, fan bi could be eliminated by utilizing the blower to force the air through low side compartment 39. Positioned under evaporator 69 is a shallow tray 12 having an outlet connected to a drain tube 63 which slopes downwardly through opening is and terminates adjacent screen 25. As the air to be cooled contacts the cold surface of the evaporator, it will usually be cooled below its dew point and moisture will condense on the evaporator. As this condensate drips from the evaporator. it will be collected by tray 12 and be disposed therefrom in the manner explained hereinafter.

The members of the refrigeration system are connected by proper tubing and charged with a suitable refrigerantv During the refrigeration cycle, the refrigerant is compressed by the motor-compressor unit 32 and forwarded by conduit 54 to condenser 3! where it is cooled and condensed by the outside air being passed thereover by fan 34. From the condenser 3!, the refrigerant passes through a restrictor capillary tube to the evaporator where it is heated by the room air passing thereover, then returned to the motor-compressor unit 32 by conduit 65. Since the operation of such a system is well known, further explanation is not deemed necessary.

It is contemplated that the outer casing i5 and the refrigeration system of the present invention be completely assembled by the manufacturer before shipment to the place of installation. Capillary tube 65 and suction tube 68 are made sufiiciently flexible so that the evaporator can be shipped in a position directly over the top of high side casing l5. The manufacturer can completely charge the refrigeration system with the correct amounts of refrigerant and oil. After outer wall H] has been provided with opening it and casing 35 has been connected to horizontal duct 34, evaporator 58 is inserted through opening l3 and easing i 5 is secured to frame 54. Dampers 52 and 53 are then installed, duct members 42 and 41 assembled, suitable connections made, and the air conditioning unit is in condition for operation. By styling outer casing [5 so that it will blend in well with the exterior portion of the building, the unit will present a neat appearance. Since low side casing 35 is located in a utility room or similar storage space, the living quarters of the building will not be obstructed by any part of the unit.

When the building is to be cooled, doors 29 and 35! are raised and secured in a horizontal position and pulley 59 is rotated in the proper direction to pull dampers 52 and 53 upwardly to the raised position. Suitable controls (not shown) are provided to control the operation of the refrigeration machinery in response to room temperature. When the machinery is operating, fan 34 will pull outside air over the condenser 33 and motor-compressor unit 32 with a resultant cooling of each. Since the casing I5 is disposed completely outside the building, the walls of the casing will be further cooled by outside air circulating thereover. Room air will be pulled from horizontal duct 34 by fan 32 and circulated through duct member 42, over evaporator 60, through low side compartment 39 and system for the air 52i returned t the...-horizontal .iductthrough duct member 41.

Any condensate "formedon evaporator 60 will drip into' tray l2 and drairntherefrom through.

tube '63 onto" screen 26 over which it wills read. As the-outs'ide air is pulled through screen-:26 by -fan M ythe condensate will-be carried'bythe air 'overPthe' condenser E! and Ithen dischar into "the atmosphere throughopen end 25.: Asthe -water=--- contacts the condenser-*3 l it"'wil1 -.be evaporated'so .that considerable heat willbe re= eteaxnom the condenser. Any condensate which is not picked up by 'the screen 26 will drip harmlessly to below. V

Secured below condenser 3| is a header Bl having several nozzles 63 which are directed toward the surface of the condenser 3!. The header 6'! is connected to a suitable water supply (not shown) by pipe 69 and a valve ill is provided to open and close the flow of Water through the pipe. The purpose of the header 5'! is to spray cooling water through nozzles 68 onto the condenser 31 when overload conditions are encountered. The cooling water will be vaporized as it absorbs heat from the condenser and then passed into the atmosphere by fan 34. Since the amount af heat required to vaporize water is quite large, only a relatively small amount of water will be required to lower the temperature of condenser 3! during overload conditions. Valve EB may be manually operated or controlled. by automatic means (not shown) in response to the temperature of condenser 3!.

During the months of the year when air conditioning is not required, dampers 5i and 53 are rotated to the lowered position and 30 are swung downwardly to a vertical position whereby open ends 24 and 25 of casing i5 are covered so that high side compartment I6 is completely closed from the weather and the machinery therein will be protected. With the dampers 52 and 53 in the lowered position, duct the ground members 42 and 4'5 are closed and no air will circulate through low side compartment 39. The

horizontal duct 34 can now be used to circulate warmed air from a furnace to the various rooms of the building. Y

From the foregoing it is apparent that an air conditioning unit is disclosed which is particularly adaptable for cooling all the rooms of a building. The refrigeration system can be com= pletely assembled at the factory where the proper charge of refrigerant and oil can be inserted into the system without the danger of excessive moisture being present, whereby the service man who installs the unit does'not have the task of properly charging the system. The unit is relatively simple to install and does not require seasonal removals and replacements as do many of the room type air conditioning units being manufactured at compartment completely outside the building, the very best of cooling is'provided for the machinery therein and the noise therefrom will be insulated from the living quarters of the building. The unit is provided with simple and effective means for removing the condensate from the evaporator and with a water spray system which will operate to quickly cool the condenser during overload periods. By connecting the low side compartment'in parallel with a portion of a hot air system, it is not necessary to install a separate duct conditioning unit.

Without further description it is thought that the air stream from doors 29 and thefeaturesandiadvantages. oft-the. invention wills be readily apparent; to'thos'er slsilled,.in..the..,ar:t,;.v

and :it williofacourseebe understood that various changes and modifications-in .construction may.

- be resorted $0,:With01lt. departingifrom the spirit.

of ithe :invention-andscope .ofnthe appended c1a-ims.:.

What isolaimedis a l. In .comb.inatio'n,.an enclosure to be cooled having an-opening. through an .outer .wall, a ;cas-

ing positioned over said opening and secured to the outside:surface-ohsaidwvall, said casing having open ends and fan means positioned there= between for circulating outside air therethrough, a compressor and condenser secured in said casing, a door pivotally secured over each open end in a manner to shield said open ends when in open position and to cover said open ends when in closed position, an evaporator secured within said enclosure with connecting conduits to said condenser and compressor extending through said opening, and means for circulating the air within said enclosure into contact with said evaporator. I

2. In combination, an enclosure having an out er wall which is provided with an opening therethrough, a casing which is secured outside said enclosure, a condenser positioned within said casing, an evaporator connected to said condenser by flexible tubing so that the evaporator can be inserted through said opening and secured with in a low side compartment, said low side compartment'being positioned in parallel with a portion of a hot air duct, and means for controlling the flow of ,air from said duct through said low side compartment.

3. In combination with the outside wall of a building having a duct disposed along the inside of said wall and having an opening through said wall, a high side compartment and a low side compartment, said low side compartment mounts ed on the inside of said wall below said duct and above said opening, an evaporator mounted with" in. said low side compartment, said high side comoutside of said wall completely enclosing said opening, a compressor, condenser and fan means mounted within said high side compartment, flex present. By positioning the high side ible tubing interconnecting said evaporator, compressor and condenser, two openings disposed in two sides of said casing, said condenser and said fan means mounted horizontally in line with said two openings so that said fan means operates to cause a horizontal air circulation into one of said two openings, over said condenser and out of the other of said openings, two openings disposed in two sides of, said low side compartment, a pair of ducts, each of said pair of ducts mounted to en close one of said openings in said sides of said low side compartment, and connected to said duct disposed along said wall, damper means associated with said pair of ducts and operable to one position to effectively place said low side compartment within said duct disposed along said wall and operable to another position to effec-. tively remove said low side compartment from said duct disposed along said wall. I

4. In a combination as claimed in claim 3, a screen mounted over each of said openings in two sides .of said casing to protect said high side comhigh side compartment from the weather when said doors are in a closed position.

5. In a combination as claimed in claim 4, a tray mounted below said evaporator whereby any condensate forming on said evaporator drips into said tray, a flexible tube connected to said tray and disposed adjacent said screen mounted over said one of said two openings in said casing whereby any condensate in said tray is gravitationally fed over the surface of said screen.

WILLIAM F. BORGERD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Roper Jan; 6, 1942 Wilson Oct. 6, 1942 Roper Dec. 1, 1942 Hull June 1, 1943 Smith Sept. 5, 1944 Babcock Jan. 1, 1946 Money Mar. 14, 1950 Kehoe July 3, 1951 

